


too much information

by itstiredandy



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Oblivio - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2019-12-25 11:25:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18260318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itstiredandy/pseuds/itstiredandy
Summary: Not knowing her own name or anything else for the matter, Marinette wakes up in an elevator that’s about to crash. But she’s not alone and her companion knows nothing about nothing either. They have to piece things together and defeat the evil that took away their memories.





	1. chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I’m doing this hope you guys enjoy!

The girl had a sprain… somewhere on her body. It was in a place where she had to hold her own weight, her ankle. Except she just couldn’t remember that was it’s name. She, who couldn’t even remember her own name, had just escaped- a thing that crashed way down. It was an elevator, that fell to the building’s bottom floor but she couldn’t make that connection and it bugged the hell out of her. She couldn’t make any connections at all. So there was that, and her only companions for that situation were another person, who also couldn’t remember their own name either and had woken up inside the elevator with her, and two floating… animal-like small creatures with some kind of powers. They were useful in helping both humans get out of the elevator so the girl could question and freak out about those later. 

When she didn’t think the situation could get any worse, she was immediately proven wrong by the slamming sound on the walls. Even without her memories, she knew that meant danger was approaching. It was like alarms rang loudly in her head and she instantly knew that meant they had to run. She was glad that was something she could tell. 

“We need to get out of here.” Her human companion announced just as she, with a rush of adrenaline, shot up and pushed on her feet to run towards the opposite direction.

Of course, doing that with a sprained ankle didn’t work out all that great. However, before she could even finish letting out her pained grunt, the person with her picked her up in their arms and ran as fast as they could. She used the opportunity to use her arms to reached behind their neck to hold on to them so she wouldn’t fall. Even though, the person was holding them tightly enough... As she did this, her heart began racing at what felt like a million miles an hour. She wanted to know why. 

They arrived at a door and the uninjured human pushed it open. Inside, there were bathroom stalls which meant that place was a bathroom. But hell if the girl or her companions knew that. 

The person set her down on the floor, gently, and she thanked them in the form of an involuntary whisper. 

“This might make things harder for us.” They half-joked with a charming smile. 

“For me.” The girl corrected. “You don’t have to deal with this, the pain and problem are mine, not yours.”

“But we’ve just escaped certain death together!” They insisted. “I could not possibly leave you now!”

This made her blush, and her chest feel like it was bursting on fire. A welcomed and overwhelming feeling that lingered. 

“Besides,” The person sat down next to her, “I don’t think I would if I could.”

“Ugh.” The black little animal-like creature groaned, pointing. “This is way too sweet for me. What isn’t though, is whatever seems to good under your shirt!”

“My shirt?” They sniffed the cloth and stuck his tongue out. “Nothing smells good in here!” He reached in and managed to pull something out of there. Neither knew what it was. However, it is worth noticing that the thing was a green color. 

While the human was disgusted, the black creature seemed very satisfied. They reached for it and threw it to the air, before catching it with their mouth. They rubbed their own belly with a wide smile. Meanwhile, the red creature’s stomached also growled. 

“Aw…” The girl pitied.

She reached inside her… it was a purse. Inside her purse, she found some macaroons. She picked up the blue one, not knowing the name of the color or treat, and showed it to the creature.

“Will this do?”

Their little eyes shone with light and nodded rapidly before pushing the sweet down as well. “Thank you!”

“No problem.” The girl smiled before she continued to search her purse.

There, she found other two things: her student ID card and her phone. She couldn’t say that was what they were. But she grabbed the card and looked at the picture, she just couldn’t tell if it was her in it. So she showed it to her company.

“Does this look like me?”

They leaned closer, along with the animal like creatures. All three of them nodded and agreed.

“Alright then…” She smiled and looked at the writing on the card. “My name’s Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”

“Hello, miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” The other person bowed and giggled.

“Why, thank you!” She giggled back.

“Wait a minute.” They searched their back pockets and showed her an ID card just like hers. “Is this me?”

“Yea.” Marinette confirmed and mimicked his gesture from just a little bit earlier. “It is nice to meet you, mister Adrien Agreste.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

They smiled at each other as their eyes locked. They didn’t want to look away just then. But another crashing sound forced them to. 

“They found us!”

Adrien held Marinette again and ran into one of the stalls. Soon, whatever came after them blasted the bathroom door opened. Marinette searched around them, desperate to find a way out. She saw a set of bars above the toilet and wondered…

“Hey-“ Marinette pointed, and Adrien seemed to immediately understand.

Soon, they were inside the ventilation shaft and they heard the muffled scream of their pursuer. It was way too close.

“Wow, Marinette!” Adrien whispered as they crawled through the cramped space. “You seem to have good ideas exactly when we need them.”

She felt herself cutting her breathe shorter, scared that her decision had actually been a bad one. With the pain on her ankle, she crawled a lot more slowly then Adrien, who was behind her. Of course it was a bad decision! But now they just had to follow through, and Marinette hoped to whoever listened that they could make it out of there okay. She knew she would hate herself if her ill advised idea cost something valuable to Adrien. 

“I hope you’re right, Adrien.”


	2. chapter two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave a comment!

“Hey Mari… Can- Can I call you that?”

 

“Yeah… I think so.” The girl giggled. “I don’t hate it.”

 

“I would rather you love it.” Adrien teased before his voice turned serious. “Mari, don’t you think I should be in front of you now? It’s going to be hard for you to climb out of this thing with the pain you have right now. If I step out first, I can help you.”

 

“That… makes sense.”

 

Scorching to the side, as much as it was physically possible for her to move, Marinette gave Adrien space to crawl forward. With some difficulty, the boy took his place in front of her and they resumed their journey. Cruising around inside a vent was a lot harder and more frustrating than movies and tv series made it out to be. Marinette had her head spinning as they passed by multiple side exists. After some ten more minutes, Adrien hissed our the most wonderful words. 

 

“I see the exist!”

 

He crawled out and turns back towards Marinette, offering her the support with his arms. But on her way out, the girl tripped on her own foot and fell over Adrien. She hissed in pain and moved off of the boy. 

 

“I’m so sorry!” She blushed, nearly messing up het words.

 

Adrien seemed just as flustered. “It’s alright.” 

 

They turned to each other and smiled a bit awkwardly. Soon, those turned into giggles. 

 

And then there were more threatening sounds. That made Adrien shot up, grabbing Marinette on his arms again. 

 

“We should probably find a safer place to hide.” He takes her up the stairs. 

 

“Are there any exists up there?” She questioned.

 

“I don’t know.

 

“Then we could just be trapped there too.”

 

“Possibly.”

 

Marinette sighed. “Well, I guess it’s better than being sitting ducks.”

 

“True.” Adrien replies as he reached the next floor. 

 

He used his foot to open the heavy metal door to have a small crack open, checking to see if anyone else was inside the room. Luckily, no one was. 

 

“We could hide here.” He suggested.

 

“At least until we figure out what to do next…” 

 

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Adrien smiled once more, making Marinette melt for about the tenth time in less than two minutes. 

 

The boy runs inside and sets the girl down on the floor, by the giant glass windows. She takes the time to exam in. “I can’t see something to open this! And this… it, I think it’s tinted, no one can see us outside!”

 

Adrien but his lower lip and fished his phone out of his back pocket. “Do you think these could help us?” He showed it to her. “I mean, they must be useful, right? Or at least, important. Why else would we just carry it out?”

 

“They might.” Marinette shrugged before pulling out her own phone. 

 

“It seems to be protected.” Tikki, the red creature, noticed.

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“That… I think that it needs a password.” She continued, seemingly unsure. 

 

“A… password?” The humans questioned in chorus. 

 

On her screen, Marinette touched and dragged, getting a sense of how it worked. Then suddenly, like a light being lit inside her head, she had an idea. She used her mouth to breathe out on her phone and with that, a pattern showed up on the screen. She followed it and her phone unlocked. 

 

“Yes!” She fist bumped air. 

 

“Wow, Marinette!” Adrien stared. “You’re so smart!”

 

“Thanks…” she blushed again. “But now we need to figure out how these work…” she stuck her tongue out as she explored. “Oops…”

 

“What, what’s wrong?”

 

“I’m not sure, exactly.” She admitted, showing him her screen. “But the little red thing on the left side can’t be good, right?”

 

Adrien hissed. “Probably not.”

 

“Okay…” Marinette breathed in and out before continuing.

 

She hit a green icon with a white cell phone. It was one that called her attention. Immediately, her screen came up with a list of names. As she scrolled down, Marinette found one that sounded very familiar to her, that probably meant something.

 

“Sabine Dupain-Cheng…”

 

“The same last name as yours!” Adrien pointed out from behind her. 

 

“Yes but why?” She agreed, pushing a green button on the left side, the call button. 

 

There were a few faint similar noises coming from the speakers at the beginning and then a distant voice. Marinette brought the phone closer to her ear and heard much clearer.

 

“-re you? The news are reporting a villain at the palace you went to visit with your school. Tell me honey, are you safe?”

 

“My.. school trip?”

 

“Yes, honey, yo-“ The woman stopped for a second as realization dawned on her. “Oh…. they hit you, didn’t they? You don’t have any memories, Marinette, do you?”

 

“No, I-“

 

“Listen, honey. I’m your mother. Whatever you do, you should find the people from your class and stick with them. They are about your age and height, and yours is the only school there so you should find them easily. And wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir to take care of everything. They are superheroes that look after Paris. Leave everything to them, okay?”

 

As she listened, Marinette looked around the office and her eyes fell on something interesting. “I-I think I got it. Thanks… mom.”

 

“No problems, honey. Please stay safe. Love you very much.”

 

“I-I love you too.”

 

She hung up.

 

“Why didn’t you ask for help?!” Adrien inquired, grabbing at the sides of his head. 

 

“Well… my mother, the person I was on the phone with, said there is help coming!” Marinette gulped, side eyeing the poster on the wall with the names Ladybug and Chat Noir plastered onto it and the figure of them both on the foreground. “But here’s the thing. The bad thing. We, are the help! And we are supposed to defeat a super villain, the thing coming after us, with super powers we no longer have!”

 

Her companion gasped and pulled at his hair. “What?! How did you figure all of that?”

 

She wordlessly points to the poster on the far right side of the room. Before going towards it, Adrien grabs her and leans her on the wall to examine it. 

 

“That’s… That’s you!” He pointed to the lady in red and black spandex suit. 

 

“And that’s you.” Marinette pointed to the guy in all black spandex suit.

 

“We’re superheroes.” They both whispered at the same time and laughed out loud.

 

It seemed as great a time as any other to make light of how they are running from the thing that they are supposed to fight against. The irony of the entire situation was strong and absurd. It deserved to be acknowledged. 


	3. chapter three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease i beg you, leave a comment

The kids sat with their backs on the collum, turned away from each other. Marinette stared up at the poster of her and her partner on the wall. It seemed surreal. Fifteen year olds who fought supervillains… Who the hell thought it was a good idea to give them that sort of responsibility? And judging by what her mother said, she didn’t know her own daughter ran around Paris saving people every day. If that was the case, Adrien’s parents might not know either.

 

“If my own mother doesn’t know I’m Ladybug,” Marinette stated out loud, “nobody must know!”

 

“What about us?” Adrien questioned.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Do you think we know about our identities?”

 

“Hm…”

 

Marinette, with her phone in her hand, turned its screen towards her. The wallpaper was a picture of Adrien. That meant that at least, he was very important to her.

 

“Maybe… we’re more than just a superhero team.”

 

Adrien peeked at her screen before turning to his own. His wallpaper was a photo of Ladybug, and his gallery was filled with many others. He seemed to reach the same conclusion that she did.

 

“Do you think we’re-”

 

He turns to look at her as she does to see him. They both open up a shy smile.

 

“Looks like it.” Marinette adds, her cheeks burning red.

 

“We must have told each other everything then!” Adrien says. “I couldn’t hide my identity from the girl I love.”

 

This makes Marinette gaps, while her heart skips a hundred beats. How does he just spring that on her?! It’s so… loaded with honesty and actual love and… It makes Marinette melt. She knows she feels the same for him. That’s what all the blushing and heart racing stuff means, right? All she really know, even if she couldn’t one hundred percent say that what she felt was love, was that he meant a lot to her and thinking of bad things happening to him… those thoughts crushed her.

 

Coughing to regain her composure, Marinette turns towards the kwami that are floating by the windows. “So if we are the superheroes, what are they?”

“I have no idea...” Adrien shrugged. “And it doesn’t seem like they do either. We’re all on the same boat.”

 

“Right.” 

 

“Wait, one of them just left!”

 

“What?”

 

Marinette tried to stand up, forgetting about her hurt ankle. The pain made her wince and sit back down. 

 

“Don’t worry.” Adrien was on his feet, as he held her hand in reassurance. “I’m sure he’s coming back. Right?” He turns towards the red kwami, who floated towards both humans.

 

“I couldn’t count on it.” She had a bitter tone to her voice, unlike before.

 

Did that mean they had a fight? Was the red one angry with the black one? Things seemed to be degrading so fast, Marinette was very close to crying of frustration. Instead, she bit her lower lip and breathed in deep.

 

Meanwhile, the elevator dinged outside. Panic mode was activated once again. Adrien picked up Marinette again, putting her behind one of the bigger desks while Tikki followed. 

 

“Ladybug, Chat Noir, we know you’re here… You won’t get away this time!” The villain singsonged. “Remember your BFF, Oblivio? Don’t tell us… you’ve forgotten us?” It laughed. 

 

The voice was strange. Like two different ones overlapped. It sounded… somewhat inhumane. Their laugh as they threw the desks to the other side of the room didn’t sound much better either.

 

“I’m not convinced that this thing is really our best friend.” Adrien whispered. “Are you?”

 

“One thing’s for sure.” Marinette replied at the same volume. “If we’re superheroes, they’ll find out about our secret identities!”

 

“We could create a distraction long enough for us to get out of here!” He suggested. “We can take the emergency stairs!”

 

That got Marinette thinking. She quickly searched around her and noticed a sticky note pad, a pen, some tape, a mug and Adrien’s phone. And just like that, a plan formulated in her head.

 

“Can I have your… thing?” She pointed at the mobile Adrien held. “I promise you’ll have it back later.”

 

Her companion smiled as he handed her the gadget. “I trust you, one hundred percent.”

 

“Thank you.” She grabbed it along with the tape atop the desk. She wrapped it around the phone and began explaining. “I’ll call you and when they come, we make a run for it. You can use this to pull your thing back! Also,” She quickly drew something on the sticky pad, “This might confuse them for a second or two. Ready?”

 

Adrien stared awestruck for a minute. “Wow, no wonder I fell in love with you.”

 

Marinette smiled before grabbing the mug on the table. So, they moved quietly behind the villain, Marinette crawling just as she had inside the vent, as she gave tape to the floor behind them. Then, she pushed the call button on her phone under Adrien’s name. His rang on the other side of the room, making Oblivio run after the sound.

 

“Ha, you forgot to switch off your phone!” They said as Adrien began to pull on the tape and soon, they ran. Marinette always on Adrien’s arms as the villain yelled out in frustration.

 

Oblivio managed to follow them to the stairs, as Marinette predicted. She waited with Adrien on the flight of stairs above that floor, after nodding at Tikki, who held the mug with coffee in her tiny… paws? Marinette didn’t exactly know what those were.

 

“Your trying to fool Oblivio again, but it’s not gonna work this time!” The villain spout as they crossed the threshold. 

 

Right then, the door clicked open and shut on the lower floor. It was Tikki holding the cup and pushing it, as Marinette had instructed her to. Without the extra weight, Marinette doubted she would have been able to do it, being so little. Anyway, it created the desired effect.

 

“Gotcha!” Oblivio ran down a floor.

 

Soon, Tikki was beside the humans again.

 

“You saved our lives!” Marinette brought the creature close to her cheeks, hugging her with her own hands. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

 

Tikki giggled. “You’re very welcome.”

 

“Let’s head back to where we were.” Adrien grabbed Marinette on his arms again. “It’s the last place they’ll think to look for us!”

 

“Kitty has smarts too.” Marinette teased, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I think I might be getting too used to this.”

 

Adrien nuzzled her hair. “At the sick of sounding too cheesy, Mari, I’d carry you anywhere.” 


	4. chapter four

“Hm…” Marinette handed Adrien his phone. “It’s not turning on anymore, I’m sorry.”

“No worries.” He put it on the inside pocket of his shirt. “I think we’re doing pretty well, even without powers. Don’t you think?”

“It’s true!” Tikki added. “You two make a very effective team!”

The humans smiled at each other and nodded.

“Yes, but,” Marinette began, “if we want a real shot at defeating Oblivio, we’re going to have to become superheroes again. Maybe we can get something by watching the news and see what happened before they erased our memories.”

“Can we do that on your… uh… thing?” Adrien questioned.

“Maybe… Let’s see.”

Marinette explored her phone again. It took her a while but with enough time to spare, she had a few news videos for them to watch. They saw one of a cop standing in the middle of traffic, not knowing what to do or that he was even a cop at all. Oblivio must have gotten to him. There was another one of the newscaster with the same problem, she had to read off a clipboard they gave her. 

“Don’t be bemused…” she started, “it’s just the news. Since early this afternoon, a supervillain going by the name Oblivio has been erasing the memories of all parisians. Ladybug and Chat Noir are tracking him down inside the Tower.”

“Right now, he’s the one tracking us down!” Adrien commented. 

Marinette clicked on other video. The same woman, earlier that day, broadcaster their fight. 

“Looks like Ladybug and Chat Noir are struggling today.” She said as the camera zoomed in on the heroes. 

“Stop calling us a couple!” Ladybug yelled at her partner, making the humans flinch. 

“We don’t exactly look lovey dicey in this.” Adrien frowned while Marinette paused the video. 

“Maybe…” Marinette let her shoulders and arm drop. “Maybe we were wrong. Maybe… Maybe we weren’t a couple before we lost our memories.”

“Oh.” He gulped. “But that feels wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I know what I feel, Marinette. And I do love you. Not being with you? That sounds very wrong to me.”

“I- … I don’t know what to say now.”

“Don’t you feel the same way?”

“I do, I think.” She shook her head. “I’m not entirely sure. Here’s what I do know, before you go making such a sad pretty face. You’re my partner and I already trust you so much. I feel like I could die if anything bad ever happened to you. I don’t know if what I feel is love… but I like you a lot, Adrien.”

That got the boy smiling. “That’s enough for me.” He pressed the play button. 

“The fight against Oblivio continuous!” The newscaster speaks. “Oh no! Cat Noir has been hit but Ladybug pulls him inside the elevator, out of danger! What’s she doing now- Oh no, Ladybug has been hit too!”

“The drawing!” Marinette remembers while the footage is cut off.

“What drawing?”

“When I woke up in the elevator with you, I saw something red on the walls! It was a symbol I think. I saw it earlier when I was looking for my mom’s name!” She goes to her list of contacts on her phone and sure enough, the turtle was just underneath Sabine’s name. “There is it!”

“You left yourself a message! That’s so smart.”

Marinette presses the call button.

“Hello?” Someone answers.

“Hello? Mister.. uh…”

“Marinette, is there a problem?”

“Well, yes. Listen, I can’t remember anything, who I am or who you are. Oblivio has erased my memories. But I think I was supposed to call you.”

“You did the right thing. I am Master Fu. Is Cat Noir with you?”

“Yes! Well,” She looks at her partner, “Adrien, actually.”

”Aw. You two know your true identities then.” 

“Were we not supposed to?” Adrien questioned. 

“That’s okay. The miraculous ladybugs will repair everything.”

The name doesn’t ring any bells for Marinette. She turns to Adrien, the question in her expression, but he just shrugs as if saying he doesn’t know anything either. 

“Well… we figured out we’re superheroes but we don’t know to transform!”

Right then, her screen flashed with a symbol. The low batteries symbol. 

“Master Fu? You have to tell us quick, I have a feeling I don’t have much more time talking with you.”

“Are your Kwamis with you? They are the creatures that flew out of your jewelry.”

“One of them is. The red one.”

“Okay, listen careful. The red kwami’s name is Tikki. She gives you, Marinette, your powers. Just say Tikki, spots on and you’ll transform into Ladybug. You’ll find an emergency user’s guide in your yo-yo. Adrien, your Kwami is the black one, his name’s Plagg. Tell him Plagg, claws out and you’ll become Cat Noir again. The rest is in your cat phone.”

“But… my kwami took off somewhere…”

“You won’t be able to transform without h-“

The screen turned black in the middle of his sentence. Marinette gasped and turn to her partner, who had the same panicked expression. 

“We have to find Plagg then.” He announced.

“Yes but how will we find that tiny creature in all of Paris?!” Marinette grabbed at her hair, anxiety filling her chest making it hurt. Her breathing also became uneven, her mind getting clouded by doubts. 

“Hey, Hey, Mari-“ Adrien tried but right then, another startling sound caught their attention. 

From the edge of the window, they could see the smallest piece of a giant circle growing over the top of the tower. Any way you managed to spin that, it couldn’t be good.

“We’re doomed!” Marinette yelled out. 

“If you don’t come out of hiding and give us your Miraculous, this giant bubble is gonna erase of every single person in Paris!” They heard Oblivio’s faint voice from inside. 

As she heard, Marinette tried to even her breathing. She inhaled and exhaled until her wasn’t trembling anymore. And that’s when her confidence kicked back in. 

“It’s time to bring Ladybug back! Tikki, spots on!”

She transformed, now standing up in front of Adrien, who was in awe. “That was amazing!”

“Thanks! But I don’t feel like a superhero at all!” She grabbed her own arms. 

“You’ve already proven that you are one! With or without a costume.” Her partner comforted. 

“Also… I don’t feel the pain anymore.”

“Do you think that has to do with the powers?”

“Maybe…”

“I want to point out something too, if you don’t mind.” Adrien held his chin, examining her. “Your costume looks a bit different than before.”

“What? How?”

“Well… now you things at the bottom and at the top.” He giggled, partly because of how she looked and partly because of how confused he himself sounded.. “It looks cute! Also your suit is a bit different, and you have more… accessories I guess. It’s just not the same costume. Feels like an upgrade!”

“Okay… now how am i going to fight a villain in these things?!” Marinette stared down at her feet with the skates. 

“I… I don’t know.”

“Ugh. I’ll figure it out.”

She forcely smirked at him before remembering they had a time limit. “Alright!” She pulled out her yo-yo. “There seems to be a kind of… button here.” She clicked it and the object opened, a screen lighting up. “User’s guide?”

When she said this, the screen summoned the guide for her. She read everything out loud, including the words ‘lucky charm’ which activated her one time power. Ladybugs manifested out of it and turned themselves into a teapot, that feel right on her hands. 

She examined it with suspicion. “Alright, what the heck am I supposed to do with this? Make tea?!”

“Maybe… you have to use it with something else? It just one piece of a puzzle?”

“Right! It must be just one part of the solution… but how am I going to find it?”

“Don’t worry, you always have the right idea at the right time.”

Marinette giggled. “I’m starting to think you have way too much faith in me.”

“I feel like I have just enough of it.” He replied. “With everything I’ve seen today, it’s justified.”


	5. chapter five

Adrien seemed way too sweet towards Marinette, when they didn’t exactly know what their relationship was before they lost their memories. Sure, as superheroes they were partners and trusted each other. But what about their civilian selves? What if they actually hated each other before? What if one of them had an unrequited crush on the other? What if… what if they had never even talked before? Marinette didn’t like any of those options, but she didn’t want to be too cozy with him now either.

 

Master Fu said the miraculous ladybugs would repair everything once the fighting was over. Did that mean they were going back to not knowing who their superhero partner was? Marinette has a feeling there would at least be a lingering sensation of hurt, even if she didn’t have those memories. 

 

“Well,” she shook her own head, jumping on her toes to psych herself up, “now there’s work to do!” 

 

Just as she took off, she stopped because Adrien called her name. “I want to fight beside you!” He grabbed a pipe that sat on the floor. “If we’re a couple, we’ll be stronger together.”

 

“But you don’t have your kwami or your superpowers! And without your costume, people will find out your secret identity!” Marinette argued, making Adrien pout in frustration. She took a step closer to him and embraced his hand with hers. “But most of all… I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you. I’m just- I’m starting to understand how much you actually mean to me.” 

 

Standing on the tip of her toes, Marinette grabbed his face on one side while she kissed the other. Adrien wavered, his shoulders relaxing as she did. Once it was over, she walked away, still facing him.

 

“Please, stay there! Ladybug is here to protect you.” She took off with those words.  

 

On her yo-yo, Marinette kept reading the user’s guide. Apparently, the miraculous enhanced all her physical abilities. That was nice to see, she didn’t remember if she had good skills without the powers if not. And the skates underneath her feet made her walk a bit more wobbly… She figured this would be a disaster if the miraculous wasn’t helping. 

 

She ran towards the roof, the tea pot on her hand, with her guard up. Spinning her yo-yo, Marinette looked around to search for Oblivio. The villain stood up from their spot on the other side as soon as they had sights on her. They had a device on their left arm, from where they shot purple balls of light that Marinette figured were what erased people’s memories. They shot and shot but Marinette managed to dodge all of them, giggling with excitement. 

 

“Super agility is super awesome!” She commented to herself, taking cover behind a wall. 

 

Oblivio followed, Marinette fell off the tower and user her yo-yo to grab onto a pole on the edge. As she pulled herself up, Oblivio never stopped firing. If even one of the balls hit her, she would lose all of memories again and that was just not happening to her twice in a day. Getting back to the roof, the girl kept dodging as best as she could, until she decided to deflect the shots with her spinning yo-yo. It wasn’t long before the string got tangled on her feet and she fell down to the ground. 

 

“Seems like you’ve forgotten your reflexes!” Oblivio towered over her. “Huh? Now we’re going to make sure you forget everything else, including your miraculous.”

 

As they were about to shoot, a small squared object passed right through them. It was a distraction caused by Adrien. The boy was a few feet away, wearing what seemed like a cardboard cosplay of his superhero costume. If Marinette wasn’t at risk, she would’ve giggled at the sight. 

 

“Attacking a lady on the ground?” He teased the villain. Did you forget your manners? Maybe that you can’t use that toy of yours as well as you like to think.”

 

“Adr-“ Marinette covered her mouth as soon as she realized she had begun speaking. 

 

Meanwhile, Oblivio attacked. Adrien used a cardboard baston to deflect the purple balls, dodging them as best he could. With the villain’s attention on him, Adrien ran. Soon, Marinette managed to get on her feet and use her yo-yo to pull her partner out of danger, closer to her. 

 

They hid behind the ventilation tube’s escape. And right on time, the black kwami showed up. 

 

“So,” they had their little arms crossed over their chest, “can I be of any help in any way?”

 

“Plagg?!” Adrien called in surprised. 

 

“So, that’s my name?”

 

“Where were you?!” Marinette yelled out. “I know we all lost our memories and are pretty much as confused as anyone could ever be, but we needed you!”

 

“Well i’m here now!” He sassed. “And pointing fingers at me won’t defeat the crazy… whatever over there.”

 

“You’re right, I’m sorry.”

 

“No worries if you can get me more cheese!”

 

“Maybe later.”

 

“Plagg, claws out!” Adrien shouted.

 

“Wait what’s that, what-“

 

The kwami was sucked into his ring, screaming in confusion whole the boy started transforming into Chat Noir. 

 

“Hey, pretty cool right?” He stared down at himself.

 

“Yea yea, we can talk about that later!”

 

Oblivio had found them and started shooting again. With his wrist on her grasp, Marinette ran away. The villain followed, Marinette deflecting all his shots again as Adrien heard the user’s guide on his baton, right behind her. 

 

“You know, your costume looks different too.”

 

“I see it! The things on my feet… and is that a tail?”

 

“We’ll figure that out later, just keep reading your user’s guide.”

 

He nodded once and did as he was told. “Superpower-“

 

“Stop! It’ll trigger it if you say the name out loud, and you only have one shot to you it before you detransform.”

 

“Oh-“

 

“What does your power do exactly?”

 

“Apparently,” he read off the screen, “I can destroy anything I touch.”

 

“Then stay away from me, if you don’t mind.” Marinette replied, teasing. 

 

“That’s not gonna be easy, ma- lady.”

 

That got a giggle out of her. 

 

Next, Chat extended his baton to shoot himself above Marinette, giving him an angle at Oblivio. The villain flinched in surprise and so did Adrien when his baton went right through their body.

 

“Just like before…” Marinette mumbled to herself. 

 

“Seems like you’ve already forgotten about your last defeat!”

 

“Haven’t you got any different puns?!” She snapped from a distance. “You know, the same one over and over again gets old!”

 

“I could do a much better job.” Adrien boasted, dodging the balls and running behind Marinette. “After all, my memory had never failed me before you.” 

 

“We won’t stand a chance until they stop firing at us…” Marinette bit her own lip, and finally an idea came to mind. “AHA SO THIS IS WHAT THE TEAPOT’S FOR! The akuma must be on their weapon, we need to destroy it.” 

 

“Alright, I have no idea what the hakuna matata is but I trust ya. So what’s the plan?”

 

She giggled before turning serious. “Akuma, Adrien. Could you get him to forget about me for a little while?”

 

“I’m on it!”

 

“Hey you, want to play cat and mouse with me? The first to catch the other wins!”

 

He ran across the edge of the top floor, evading Oblivio’s shots and Marinette sneaked out of their sight. Going at their back, she slid her way under them and used her yo-yo to grab their right arm. 

 

“Chat Noir, your superpower, now!” She called 

 

“Cataclysm!” He shouted, aiming for Oblivio’s weapon. It crumbles into rusty pieces and fell to the floor, where the dark purple butterfly flew out. 

 

Marinette opened her yo-yo and caught the animal. “Time to de-evalize.” Opening it again, the butterfly flew out again, looking white this time. “Bye little butterfly.”

 

Once that was done, Oblivio demorphed into two different slightly unconscious people. Adrien and Marinette stared in awe. 

 

“Wow, so Oblivio was these two?” 

 

“Apparently.” The girl shrugged.

 

“And what do we do about that?” Her parner pointed to the giant purple thing the villain had created moments prior. 

 

“That’s where my powers come in!” She grabbed the teapot from the floor. “It fixes everything, back to normal it goes.” 

 

“Wait-“ Adrien grabbed her wrist before she can throw it up in the air. “Do you think… we’ll remember all of this afterwords?”

 

“No.” Marinette shook her head, staring down. “Master Fu said my miraculous reverts everything so… we won’t.”

 

“None of it?”

 

With a lump on her throat, she replied. “None… None of it.”


	6. chapter six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHY HELLO THIS IS NOT THE END OF MY FIC, it's more or less the end of the episode but.. I wanted to expand on it, like a lot, so expect more to come!

“Do… Do we have to do this?”

 

The two humans that fused into Oblivio were still unconscious. It seemed the tool of becoming a single entity for however many hours had passed was somewhat high on them. In Ladybug’s user’s guide, it said that the akumatized victims usually came to after a second or two. It had been more than that for those two.

 

And meanwhile, Adrien asked  _ that.  _

 

“Adrien…” Marinette put a hand on the side of his arm. “Oblivio didn’t only erase our memories, they erased them from other people too. And honestly… I really want to remember other things from my life. Don’t you?”

 

“Yes but I…” His eyes dropped to the floor as his voice weakened. “I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to go back to… however we were before.”

 

“I don’t want either but we’re superheroes, Adrien. Our job is to save people and fix everything. I can’t not undo the harm Oblivio has done.”

 

Adrien gulped and nodded slowly. “I understand, so m’lady…” He moved to grab her hand, “May I?”

 

She blushed. “You may.”

 

Both leaned in at the same time, their heads cocking to opposite sides. They lips met and Marinette felt her body melting. The sensation that came with the kiss was overwhelming, sweet and good. Their hands found each other as well, squeezing one another as if they would not bear to be torn apart. Once it was over, Marinette sensed her eyes watering, a tear threatening to fall. 

 

“If it happened once, it can happen again.” She said, her voice faltering. 

 

“We can make it happen.” Adrien corrected. 

 

Marinette nodded, untangled their hands, took a step back and threw the teapot in the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

 

A giant swarm of ladybugs flew around him, making disappear anything that didn’t belong there, and returning everyone’s memories. At the end of it, Alya and Nino, the people who fused to make Oblivio, shook their heads after regaining consciousness. 

 

“Ladybug? Chat Noir?” Alya neared the superhero duo, who were embracing. 

 

At the sound of that voice, Marinette stiffened and pulled away from Chat Noir. How did they end up there, anyhow? The damned kitty was smiling but even he seemed confused. 

 

“Yes?!” Marinette turned her attention to her best friend.

 

“Guys!” Chat interfered. “You guys haven’t seen a supervillain named Oblivio, have you?”

 

“You defeated it already, dude!” Nino rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact. 

 

“Actually, he was us.” Alya continued. 

 

“Oh,” the superheroes said together, “okay, then. Pound it? Pound it.”

 

“We make a good couple donya think?” Chat prod, a hand on his hip. “Otherwise, we couldn’t have won again, like we always do!”

 

Marinette sighed and slapped her forehead. “We’re a team, Chat. Not a couple. Don’t start that again, please? I already told you, I like someone else. Besides, this charming kitty act of yours was what caused us to be distracted and get into all this trouble in the first place!”

 

Chat giggled, his arms crossed over his chest as Marinette pouted with a grunt. “Sorry, m’lady. It’s just how I was built! I can’t memorize different scripts.”

 

Right then, her ring sounded the alarm. She would be detransforming soon… When had she used Lucky Charm? 

 

“This conversation is not over!” She pointed at Chat before turning to her classmates. “Will you two be okay?”

 

“Yeah man.” Nino replied. “Don’t worry about us.”

 

“We’ll just go back to our class trip. This should make for a… interesting story.” Alya added.

 

“That, it will.” Marinette smiled at them before pulling out her yoyo. “Be safe you, guys!”

 

“You too, bugaboo!” Chat waved as she left. 

 

She grabbed onto a post and swung down the left side of the building. There she found an open window, and moved herself forward to get inside the room, right as she was about to turn back. Rolling onto the floor, Marinette sat up while Tikki flew out of her earing. 

 

“Wow…” The red kwami exhaled. “I don’t remember the fight but I feel exhausted!”

 

Marinette smiled as she pulled a macaroon from her purse. “Me too, Tikki.”

 

“Hey, one of them is missing.” The creature pointed out before sinking her teeth into the treat. 

 

“Oh yea…” Marinette shrugged. “Seemed like I gave you the wrong one while I had no memories… It makes sense.”

 

“Right! But Marinette, you should get back to your class now, right?” 

 

“YEEK! YES, TIKKI, COME ON, WE GOTTA MAKE EVERYONE AT THE BUS!”

 

Opening her purse, Marinette let her kwami inside before rushing down the stairs. The bus that had taken her class there was waiting outside the door, most of the students already inside. All but her and…

 

“A-Adrien?!” She bumped into him on her way to the vehicle. 

 

“Hey Marinette! I’m glad to see you’re safe.” He turns around to face her and they start walking together. “Did Oblivio get you?”

 

“Yeah… I don’t remember anything from after he transformed to before Ladybug and Chat Noir defeated them.”

 

“Me neither!” He lightly poked her with his elbow. “I bet some people in our class don’t either. Maybe everyone?”

 

“You think Oblivio could’ve gotten our entire class?!”

 

Adrien shrugged. “They seemed strong enough.”

 

“Marinette Dupain Cheng, Adrien Agreste!” Ms Bustier called them out once they neared the bus. “Where were you two, we were all so worried!”

 

“We’re so sorry, Ms Bustier!” Marinette started. “I… I… eh.. I was trapped behind all the clutter at the front of the exist.”

 

“So was I!” Adrien added. “We only managed to get out after Ladybug put everything back.”

 

“Well… that’s understandable.” Their teacher nodded. “Now come along, get inside, we’re already behind schedule.”

 

“Thanks Mr. Bustier.” The kids said together. 

 

Marinette quickly made her way towards the back of the bus, where Alya seated. The girl had her head down, looking at her feet. Marinette figured this had something to do with her friends akumatization.

 

“Hey… Alya? Are you alright? Are you upset because you got akumatized again?”

 

“Girl,” Her friend snapped her head up, “how did you know that?! You weren’t here when Nino and I explained the story to everyone!”

 

“yeEK-“ Marinette began stuttering, sweat dripping down her forehead. “Yes, I-I wasn’t but- but I met with Ladybug inside the building and she, you know, she told me that Oblivio were you and Nino! Yes, that’s what happened.”

 

“Okay… Yeah, you’re right. I’m upset I got akumatized again. I need to have a better grasp on my emotions! I don’t want to harm anyone and be a villain-“

 

“Alya, you’re never going to be a villain.” She took her friends hand. “Hawkmoth is and he manipulated the people he akumatizes. It’s not you hurting everyone, it’s him. You stand for everything that’s good you know! Justice, fairness and kindness. It’s why you became my friend!”

 

Alya blinked behind her glasses, ultimately letting a smile form on her lips. 

 

“Besides!” Marinette went on, “As hard as it is… what with Hawkmoth capitalizing on anyone’s negative emotions… I don’t think it’s healthy for us to just… push it down and ignore them either. We just have to be careful not to get carried away.”

 

“That’s true.” Alya nodded. “Girl, you’re wise as fuck.”

 

“Alya!” 

 

“What? What I said it’s true-“

 

“I don’t mean that, I meant the fuck part, I never heard you swear before!”

 

“Oh, that!” She giggled. “It’s just how I emphasize things.”

 

“Right. But hey, did you manage to get any good pictures for the Ladyblog? You just saw the superheroes, no?”

 

“I mean… yeah. But we were unconscious for a lot of it. Ladybug was gone before I could even say goodbye!”

 

“What about Chat?”

 

“He left right after her. I still have a post to make though! Give me a few minutes, I need to write the first draft.”

 

“Well okay but won’t it give you a headach-“

 

“Hey Marinette!” Adrien called from the other side of the bus.

 

“YEEK!” The girl turned to him. “Yes?”

 

“How do you think Ladybug and Chat Noir defeated Oblivio? Nino thinks they made them zap themselves, I don’t quite think that’s it.”

 

”All I know for sure is that they worked as a team.” She smiled. “Like they always do.”


	7. chapter seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls be kind and leave a comment!

Since becoming Ladybug, Marinette had gotten a new habit of checking the news every day. This wasn’t only to be alerted of any insurgent akumas, but also to find out how the general public was seeing their heroes. Because of this, she always knew there were, as they named it, Ladynoir fans. Posts regarding… loose interpretation of their body languages with each other, pictures taken out of context and more, those had stopped coming as a surprise to Marinette a couple of months back. However, what did come as a surprise for her that day was one specific  photo that had found its way to, seemingly, all major Parisian news outlets. 

Reading a post on her computer, Marinette’s eyes grew wider with each word. They straight up might just popped right out of her head when she saw the actual picture. Ladybug and Chat Noir sharing a kiss - a loving one, not faked, not done out of necessity, but exactly what a kiss should be, an act of love between two people who actually did… love each other. One of each of their hands were intertwined, Ladybug had her Lucky Charm in the other while Chat’s rested on her waist.

“When did this happen?!” The girl jumped off of her chair. “Tikki-”

“I remember as much as you do, Marinette.” Her kwami replied with patience.

“B- I, How could I have done this?! My heart belongs to Adrien!! I-” She inhaled and spoke again, more calmly this time. “Maybe I should talk to Master Fu.” 

“Maybe he doesn’t know anything.”

“I called him during the attack.” Marinette said with resolve. “He must know something!”

Right then, a knock at her window startled her. She tripped and fell on the floor. As she stood up, Marinette hissed and looked at the glass. Behind it was her hero partner. Had he seen the photos too? Obviously, he’d have to live under a rock not to! Was that why he came to talk to her? OH, WORSE, HAD HE FIGURED OUT SHE WAS LADYBUG??

_ Easy,  _ the girl thought to herself,  _ that’s a big assumption to make. _

Marinette prepared herself to tell Tikki to hide but the small creature had been faster than her holder. With a relieved sigh, the young girl opened the window for Chat Noir to come in. But if she were to be honest, he chose the absolute worst time to show up. 

Marinette still tried to be polite. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Chat Noir?”

“Why, princess, I came to see how you were doing!” He bowed after getting inside. “Any memory loss related side effects?”

“How do you know Oblivio hit me, Chat?”

“OH-, I read it on the Ladyblog, of course.”

Ah yes, Marinette had read her bestie’s post. It had a count of every student in their class that had gotten hit, and the story of why she and Nino got akumatized in the first place. Marinette liked to think she had gotten permission from Nino for that last part.

“Right, so you’ve been going around checking on everyone who had their memories erased?”

“I already have, Princess.” Chat grinned. “Your my last visit of the night.”

“At,” Marinette glanced at her nightstand clock, “7 pm?”

“I work fast.”

The girl sighed, already somewhat fed up by the conversation.

“You came here to talk about the picture, right?”

Chat gasped with his signature theatricality before smiling at Marinette. “Princess, you know me too well.”

“Yeah yeah…”

“I know she’s rejected me before but this… it means there’s something there, right?”

“Chat…” Marinette sighed, yet again, this time with worry. “Don’t do this. To yourself or Ladybug. You don’t know what happened during the attack. I’ll admit, I can’t explain the kiss but just because it happened, doesn’t mean it’s what she wanted. Especially since both of you had your memories erased. Just… you should talk to her before going and getting your heart broken again.”

“Aww, you’re so sweet. I will do as you asked, Princess.” He assumed a more serious stance, “I know it was… bad of me to flirt with Ladybug the way I did when she’s told me she isn’t interested so many times. I’m just a bit happy to see that the door might not be completely closed all the way.”

_ I suppose this is the best response I could’ve hoped for,  _ Marinette thinks. It would probably take the world ending for Chat Noir to give up on Ladybug completely. She would take what she could get. For now.

“Well, that’s good.” She smiled at her partner. “Ladybug cherishes you a lot, I’m sure. I’m sure she’d hate to hurt you again.”

“Yes, my lady’s just that kind! But, how do you know, Princess?”

“Yeek-” Marinette let out before recomposing herself. “It’s just how she seems to me, I think. Erm- I, well, I hope you have some luck, Chat. Maybe not with Ladybug, but just someone who’ll make you happy.”

“My Lady is the best there is for me, Marinette.” Chat stood up, the smile still on his face. “I’ll see you around, Princess.”

“Aye-” 

The girl sighed while she watched her partner leave. Once he was already too far away, she let out, “see you around…”

Right after, Marinette looked for her kwami. Tikki left her hiding spot behind the girl’s computer screen and sat on her hands.

“I really need to talk to Master Fu, Tikki. My parents are down at the bakery, maybe it’s fine if I leave now…”

“Marinette-”

“I can’t wait, Tikki. I need to know what happened.”

The kwami didn’t argue anymore. She knew it was hard to convince Marinette to let things go, and maybe this time… it would be for the best. The girl would certainly not sleep all that well with the doubts swimming around in her mind.

To make sure her parents wouldn’t notice her absence, Marinette stuffed her pillows under her blanket. Old fashioned, and ever so predictable, she knew. She also knew she parents would fall for it since they trusted their daughter. Marinette felt a bang of guilt in her heart for taking advantage of her parents’ trust but she also felt like it had to be done.

“Tikki,” she called, “spots on.”

And out of the balcony she was, with her yo-yo carrying her around Paris, all the way to her mentor’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!!


	8. chapter eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave a comment!

Ringing a doorbell had never felt so… intense for Marinette before. It seemed like just that small act could change so much in her life. The young girl didn’t voice her concerns as she detransformed behind a bench, she knew exactly what her kwami would say. It would include her opinion on how fooling her parents and coming to see Fu was uncharacteristic for Marinette and would likely not get her anywhere.

She rang the bell anyway.

The door opened and her mentor looked at her, no surprise in his face. “Marinette. May I ask what brings you here?”

“Hey, Master Fu.” The girl greeted with a tiny smile. “I… I’ve been having some questions about the last akuma attack, can I-”

“Of course.” He stepped aside to let Marinette through. “Would you like some tea?”

“Yea, that’d be nice.”

The old man smiled as he walked away and Wayzz hovered over to Marinette, leading her to the living room. They greeted each other, exchanged some pleasantries but then silence fell. The girl felt her own heart beat against her rib cage, it seemed like it could be a kid with caffeine running in their veins. 

“Wayzz,” she tried at some point, “I called Master Fu, didn’t I?”

“Yes, Marinette, you did.”

“I-”

Her questions were for Master Fu. Even if his kwami did know anything, the man would probably want to clarify things for her himself. So she shook her head at Wayzz and stared at her lap until her mentor came back. He entered with a tray, two cups of tea sat on it. He set it down and then sat in front of her.

“So, Marinette,” he began, taking one of the cups, “what is it you wanted to ask me?”

The girl took a deep breath. “I think it may be quite a lot, actually. Wayzz confirmed that I called you when I lost my memories, since I had no idea I was Ladybug.”

“That is correct.” Master Fu nodded.

“And I was with Chat Noir?”   


“Yes.”

“In his civilian form?”

“No.”

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows. “His kwami never ran out of energy?”

“Perhaps. However, at the moment you called, he was still in his costume.”

“Does that mean I found out his identity while we were…”

“I’m afraid I do not know the answer, Marinette.”

Those words hit the young girl hard. She sensed the tears forming in her eyes, they were out of frustration, but she moved on. She still had other questions.

“Have you seen the news lately?”

“Yes, I have.”

“So, you’ve seen-”

“The picture, yes. Is that what you have been so worried about, Marinette?”

“Y-yes- I mean, no! Not- That’s not all of it, I’m just-” She took another deep breath. This was true, by the way. The kiss had not been the only thing on his mind about the whole situation. “Master Fu, if, say, I did, find out about Chat’s civilian identity while we had no memories. My lucky charm fixed that, right? But- could-” She cleared her throat. “Could those memories come back? I mean- From the time we were blasted by Oblivio to when I tossed the lucky charm- could something bring them back?”

“Marinette…” Master Fu leaned closer. “I must say this is unprecedented. Perhaps they could, or perhaps they will never. I have no prior experience to say. But if they do come back, Marinette, you must pretend like they haven’t. Either of you knowing each other’s secret identity is-”

“Dangerous.” The girl finished with a sad look in her eyes. “Yes, I know.”

“It is simply how things must be. Trust me, Marinette, I would not have wished this upon you. But-”

“Yes?!”

“You still haven’t drunk your tea, Marinette.”

She looked down at her cup on the tray, which she hadn’t even touched, and took it, holding it with a tight grip.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She shot and took a few sips. “It tastes really good, Master Fu.”

“I am glad to hear so.” He smiled. “Now, Marinette, I can only imagine how uneasy you must feel with such a big gap in your memory and I cannot promise it will get better. You simply must be find a way to cope with it, as you’ve done with everything else that comes with being Ladybug.”

Marinette couldn’t mask her disappointment. However, she quickly decided to avoid an argument. Yes, she’s dealt with everything that comes with being Ladybug, did it mean she had to? She was fifteen. She loved saving Paris and being Chat Noir’s partner but at times… it felt like it took away parts of her normal life and it hurt. However, it was getting late and she would not like to upset her mentor either. So she smiled and stood up instead.

“I know, Master Fu.” She finished her tea. “And thanks for receiving me on such a short notice.”

“It was my pleasure, Marinette.”

Wayzz saw her to the door, and that was that. The young girl didn’t feel like transforming into Ladybug to get home faster, the walk might be good to give her time to think. Because it seemed like asking Master Fu questions only served to bring her new ones. If Master Fu didn’t know most of what she had asked him, what had they talked about on the phone during the attack? Had Lucky Charm never been used for restoring memories before? Could there really be something to being the ones she lost back? 

When she arrived home, she quietly transformed in an alley and used her yoyo to pull herself up to the balcony. And that’s when she heard her mom calling.

“Marinette? Are you up in the balcony?”

“Erm-“ She stared at her kwami who hid behind a plant pot. “Yes, mom, I’m here.”

Soon, the trap door opened. Sabine looked at her daughter and sighed.

“Oh, Marinette, it’s too late for you to be up! Go to bed, you still have to go to school tomorrow.”

“Right.”

The young girl moved towards the stairs as her mother stepped down. Before she could set foot in her room, her mother called her again.

“Marinette,” she began, “why are there pillows under your blanket?”

“Huh?”

Her heart began to speed up, beating against her chest. Marinette had gotten used to lying to her mom, it did not mean she liked to do it.

“The pillows under your blanket, dear.”

Sabine was far from stupid. The way she spoke had the implied question, had her daughter snuck out? And now, would she tell her the truth? Another thing that made being Ladybug a tab bit less exciting and rewarding that it was supposed to be, having to lie to her family made them drift apart. 

“It’s nothing, mom.” Marinette began, “I-  I didn’t want you to think I was… out on the balcony when I should’ve been sleeping. I- I won’t do it again, I promise.”

“Hm…” Sabine nodded. “I trust you, Marinette. Have a good night, honey.”

Her daughter gulped, trying to keep the tears at bay. “Good night, mom.”

As her mother disappeared under the trap door, Marinette took the ladder to her bed and let herself drop on the mattress. Soon enough, her kwami joined.

“Marinette?’ The small voice called.

“I want quiet for a bit, Tikki, please.”

The girl didn’t see her kwami nodded, but she figured it was what Tikki did anyway. Silence… it wouldn’t solve anything, not her doubts, not her lies - not only to her family but also friends - and not her struggles as Ladybug, OR, she remembered now, her lack of memories. 

It just seemed as good a place to start as any.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Pls leave a comment


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